News from Leading Brands

Keep up with the latest impact news from companies embracing the triple bottom line, shared via 3BL's publishing platform.

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Responsible Business & Employee Engagement | Verizon

Entrepreneur Expands Her Thriving Tax Firm With Digital Innovation

Helen Mathis taught accounting as a vocational instructor for 30 years before facing a career-defining moment: The school where she worked closed and Mathis knew she needed a new plan

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Innovation & Technology

Learn More About Sappi's Latest Business Venture: Sappi Biotech

In 2016, Sappi Limited established a new global business, Sappi Biotech, to accelerate our response to consumer demand for renewable products with a low carbon footprint.

Sappi took a major step forward in September 2017 toward efforts to expand its biorefi ning expertise with the acquisition of Xylex® and Versalac® technologies, owned by Plaxica Limited.

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Education

From Cows to Connections: Principal Draws Inspiration from Student Sketches

Almost 20 years ago, Kevin Boles took his seventh graders on a field trip from Bristol Township, PA, to Harrisburg. When students drew recollections of what they learned, their pictures were eye opening. That early insight ignited Boles’ passion to fight for kids in his under-funded community to have access to the best classroom resources.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

SpongeBob and NICKtern friends Make a Splash in LA Hospital Playroom

This semester, our Summer NICKterns took on what may have been the largest intern mural project to date. Our NICKterns partnered with the mega-talented Peter Bennett, Art Director on SpongeBob SquarePants, to create a SpongeBob-themed mural at County USC Hospital in Downtown Los Angeles. Using Peter’s design, the NICKterns aimed to create an underwater oasis for the playroom area in the hospital’s Pediatric Inpatient Unit. In just three short days, the interns were able to create a floor-to-ceiling rendition of Bikini Bottom for the hospital’s patients to enjoy themselves in.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Farmers Focus on Maximizing Soil Health

Farmers in the Cedar River Watershed gathered last week and learned from local experts how maximizing soil health can economically benefit their operations while protecting water quality. The event was a free field day organized by a new public-private-nonprofit partnership.

The Cedar River Watershed Partnership organized the event for dozens of farmers in the watershed and surrounding region at the Krell farm near Blooming Prairie, the upper part of the Cedar River Watershed.

Aimed at increasing farmers’ knowledge of soil health practices, particularly tillage and cover crops, the field day focused on the costs and benefits of adopting different land-management practices that improve the soil, water and economic health of farms.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Ecocentricity Blog: The Devil Made Me Do It

Studies are accumulating that show that financial performance does not have to be sacrificed to create social good. A new crop of CEOs are passionately leading their companies in this new direction that seemed utter folly 25 years ago.

Social Impact & Volunteering

FCA Community: Breathing New Life Into Toledo Neighborhood Parks

To her, the parks are personal. She honed her basketball skills on the courts. Her family gathered at the picnic tables. She ran drills out in the grass fields.

Innovation & Technology

eBay Brings Akron’s Innovative Entrepreneurs to New York City

This month, eBay takes over retail concept store, The New Stand, to bring a collection of new and unique items from Akron to the Big Apple. Earlier this year, the city of Akron, Ohio and eBay piloted Retail Revival - a first-of-its-kind mentorship program to support the growth of the city’s local businesses and provide the tools and resources they need to get their businesses up and running online. Some of the Akron businesses showcased at the New Stand locations include essential oils from Handkraffted, skateboard light fixtures from Whiskertin, original artwork from Art of Matt Miller and local-favorite craft sodas from NORKA Beverage Co.

Discovery Education

Education

Middle School Educators Across Southeast Michigan Adopt Computational Thinking Curriculum to Prepare Students For 21st Century Careers

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, have announced the Michigan launch of their Ignite My Future in School (IMFIS) initiative.

Environment

BIER Member Spotlight: Julien Gervreau

Twice a month the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is highlighting their members' beverage industry sustainability insights and ideas in their BIER Member Spotlight series. These spotlights include their answers to questions about their company's sustainability achievements and strategy, practical insights from BIER, interesting facts, and more.

Environment

Tackling the 1.6-Billion-Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis

The scale of the problem is staggering. Each year, 1.6 billion tons of food worth about $1.2 trillion are lost or go to waste—one-third of the total amount of food produced globally.1 To put the figure in perspective, that is ten times the mass of the island of Manhattan. And the problem is only growing: BCG estimates that by 2030 annual food loss and waste will hit 2.1 billion tons worth $1.5 trillion.

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Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How the Team Member Culture at Las Vegas Sands Sets the Company Apart from the Competition

Before Philippa Fryman took on her role as vice president of Food and Beverage at The Venetian and The Palazzo, she joined the team in 2009 as the Butler Operations manager in Luxury Services. Overseeing a total of 60 Team Members, she quickly learned how inter-dependent various departments were and was introduced to the gaming industry.

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Research, Reports & Publications

AccountAbility Releases Document on Key Changes Introduced in the AA1000AP (2018) and Bridge to Sustainability Reporting

AccountAbility is pleased to release a practical guidance document highlighting the key changes made to the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles (AA1000AP, 2018), as well as an overview of alignment with commonly used sustainability-related reporting standards and frameworks. The document serves to support both organisational users and assurance providers in effectively working with the AA1000AP (2018).

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Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Deeper Look at CECP's Investing in Society: Performance

Investing in Society, CECP’s recently launched compendium of data, research, and case studies illustrates innovations in corporate efforts to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Divided into five sections – Priorities, Performance, People, Planet, and Policies – the collection of insights offers a far-reaching assessment of what leading companies are doing in each of the five focus areas.

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Diversity & Inclusion

The CEO of Girl Rising is Making the World a Better Place for Girls, One Story at a Time

It's not unusual for a movie to win awards, get rave reviews and win big (or lose) at the box office. But it's not every day one helps to change the world. Girl Rising is a film that became a powerful movement and gave filmmaker Christina Lowery the role of a lifetime. Now the CEO of a globally recognized non-profit with connections to Michelle Obama and support from Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys, Priyanka Chopra and Freida Pinto, Lowery's work is to show communities the power of education, get girls in school and keep them there. The reason: Educating girls is the single most powerful way to end global poverty.

Diversity & Inclusion

How Scotiabank and Shirlie Delacherois are Empowering Canada’s Aboriginal Community

As a young girl, Shirlie Delacherois was aware of her Aboriginal heritage, but didn’t fully appreciate its value until much later in life. It was after a 20-year career at Scotiabank that Shirlie had the opportunity to continue the bank’s long history of supporting Aboriginal Peoples — by stepping into the role of Senior Aboriginal Recruitment Consultant. She has been connecting Aboriginal Canadians to career opportunities at Scotiabank ever since.

EDF+Business

Responsible Production & Consumption

Walmart Joins Ranks of Retailers Pulling Toxic Paint Strippers From Shelves

On Monday, Walmart announced that it will stop selling paint strippers containing methylene chloride or N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) by February 2019 – making it the first general merchandise retailer to take such action. Walmart’s announcement follows the strong leadership demonstrated by Lowes, Home Depot, and Sherwin Williams, all of which have committed not to sell methylene chloride- and NMP-based paint stripping products by the end of the year. Importantly, Walmart’s action goes beyond its U.S. stores, including those in Mexico, Canada, and Central America, as well as its online store.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Lixil and P.I.P.E. Step Up as Sponsors for IWSH's Navajo Nation Community Plumbing Challenge

LIXIL, the pioneering manufacturer of such brands as American Standard and GROHE, and the Piping Industry Progress & Education Trust Fund (P.I.P.E.) have generously extended support, both financial and products/materials, to the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation’s 2018 International Community Plumbing Challenge (CPC) in Northwestern New Mexico from Oct. 22-26.

As Gold Level sponsors, LIXIL and P.I.P.E. become invaluable partners with IWSH and DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project as the CPC team provides households in the Baca-Prewitt area of the Navajo reservation with access to water and improved sanitation.

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Social Impact & Volunteering

Whirlpool Corporation and Celebrity Chef Gail Simmons Prepare Welcome Home Dinner for 41 Habitat for Humanity Families

Whirlpool Corporation teamed up with Celebrity Chef Gail Simmons to provide a lasting first memory for 41 Habitat for Humanity homeowners and their families in northern Indiana.

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Environment

How to Get the Most Out of Your EHS and Sustainability Consulting Firm

With decades of experience in EHS and sustainability consulting, Antea Group guides you on getting the most out of your consulting partnership.

Research, Reports & Publications

Voya Financial Releases 2017-2018 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report “Advancing Sustainable Growth”

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA), announced that it has published its 2017-2018 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report, which reflects the progress the company has made in recent years to meet financial targets, grow and evolve its brand and operating model, build upon its culture, and advance its Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Xylem Named to Fortune “Change the World” List

Global water technology company, Xylem (NYSE:XYL), has been included on FORTUNE’s 2018 "Change the World" list, a ranking of 50 companies that have made a significant social impact through their core business strategy. Listed as number 7 in the ranking, Xylem has been recognized for creating tangible social value through its innovative solutions that are helping to solve water challenges across the world.

Education

Amgen Biotech Experience in France

In this video, High school students and educators from Lycée de la Vallée de Chevreuse in France share their perspectives on the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE). Created by the Amgen Foundation, ABE is an innovative science education program that provides students with hands-on lab curriculum and teachers with the necessary tools to teach biotechnology in their classrooms.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Dow Sustainability Academy at the Erb Institute Trains New Leaders

The world’s most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company, “New Dow” is setting the bar high in reinventing this globally recognized brand.

Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.

Media & Communications

Global Warming / Climate Change -- What Are Current Weather Events and Dramatic Changes Telling Us?

The National Geographic describes “Global Warming” as a set of changes to the Earth’s climate, or long-term weather patterns, varying from place-to-place. The dramatic changes in the rhythms of climate could affect the face of our planet – coasts, forests, farms, mountains…all hang in the balance.

Research, Reports & Publications

How Caterpillar Helps Our Customers Build a Better World

A better world is within our reach. Click here to learn more about our new enterprise strategy and how it allows us to grow profitably so we can continue to innovate solutions that help customers build critical infrastructure and meet people’s basic needs. Sustainability remains one of our foundational values.

Latest Campaigns

  1. AEG's Commitment to Social Impact and Volunteerism
    AEG embraces its responsibility to enrich the lives of people in the communities around the world where we do business, and to use business to create...

  2. Carbon Footprint
    We are accelerating our efforts to help build a low-carbon economy and avert the worst impacts of climate change. Our goal to reduce our GHG emissions...

  3. Environmental Sustainability
    As sustainability leaders, we implement our sustainability strategy across all company activities along the entire value chain, from raw materials to...

  4. Corporate Social Responsibility
    Corporate Social Responsibility

  5. Sustainability Report
    Our latest Sustainability Report highlights recent accomplishments and progress toward achieving goals in the environmental, social and governance...

  6. Kingfisher Around the World
    The SCS Kingfisher certification mark is showing up on an increasing number of products around the world. It differentiates companies that are making...

  7. License to Operate
    Corporate governance, risk management, operational integrity, and regulatory compliance are demanding challenges that companies face in today’s ever...

  8. IWBI | WELL Building Standard
    Our built environment can shape our habits and choices, regulate our sleep-wake cycle, drive us toward healthy and unhealthy choices, and passively...

  9. Leading ESG & Sustainability Stewardship
    The new CNH continues on its longstanding path of excellence in sustainability, which is recognized by the foremost authorities.

  10. Green Mountain Energy Commitment to Sustainability
    At Green Mountain Energy Company, we share our customers’ commitment to the environment and sustainability. We are inspired by the success that we...

  11. KeyBank's Community Investment
    In states where Key has a presence, there are approximately 1.7 million low- to moderate-income (LMI) households. Many LMI individuals don’t have bank...

  12. SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights
    Highlighting the top news, commentary, and research for the week coming from SHQ. The highlights newsletter also spotlights one profiled organization...

  13. Responsible Investing
    Responsible Investing

  14. FedEx | Awards & Recognition
    We are consistently ranked among the world’s most admired brands and employers. Read more about honors and recognition for FedEx’s ongoing effort to...

  15. FedEx | Delivering for Good
    Doing what we do best for those who need it most. When disaster strikes, and there’s not a moment to lose, our people mobilize the FedEx global fleet...